Brian’s San Antonio Taco Guide 🌮
7 Tacos I’d Tell a Friend to Try While They’re in Town
San Antonio takes tacos seriously.
After years of riding around downtown with Mural Ride, I get asked some version of the same question all the time:
Where should we go for tacos?
There are a hundred ways I could answer that, and I’m definitely not going to declare these the seven “best” tacos in San Antonio. That’s how you start a fight around here.
Instead, think of this as the list I’d give a friend coming into town who wanted to experience a few different sides of San Antonio’s taco culture.
There’s a breakfast taco, a puffy taco, Texas barbecue stuffed into a tortilla, vegan barbacoa, traditional carnitas, a late-night food truck, and even a taco involving barbacoa and Big Red.
Some of these spots also make appearances on our Taco Trails E-Bike Tour, but we don't follow the exact same route every day. Restaurant hours change, menus change, and sometimes we find something that we think you absolutely need to try.
Come hungry.
🌮 1. Con Huevos Tacos
Brian’s order: Papa Chorizo
Also try: One of their signature tacos
I don’t have some elaborate foodie explanation for this one.
I just really love a papa chorizo taco.
Potatoes, chorizo, fresh tortilla, salsa. There are some foods that don’t need to be reinvented, and this is one of them.
Con Huevos is also one of those neighborhood places that feels like San Antonio the second you walk through the door. It's gotten plenty of attention outside the city, but it still feels like the kind of place you find because somebody local told you to go there.
If you want to branch out from my order, ask what they're known for. They've had some pretty famous tacos come out of that little kitchen.
Brian’s tip: Get more than one taco. This is breakfast. You’re allowed.
Get directions to Con Huevos Tacos
🌮 2. Provecho
Brian’s order: Ask if they can make you a puffy taco
The move: Taco + brewery
Here’s a little Mural Ride insider knowledge.
Provecho is a food truck parked right next to Roadmap Brewing Co. In the mornings, they’re typically able to make us a puffy taco.
You might not see it on the menu.
Ask anyway.
Maybe it’s a secret menu. Maybe it’s just a Mural Ride secret menu. Either way, when they can make it, that’s what I’m getting.
The puffy taco also gives you an excuse to learn a little San Antonio history. Drop a tortilla into hot oil and it puffs up into this crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside shell that has become one of the foods most closely associated with our city.
I'll save the rest of that story for another day.
Or come ride with us and we'll tell you while you're eating one.
Provecho is typically there for morning service before closing for the afternoon and returning for evening service. Because it's a food truck, check their Instagram before making a special trip.
Check Provecho's current location and hours on Instagram
Brian’s tip: Ask about the puffy taco. If they can make it, get it. Consider yourself in on the secret.
🔥 3. Reese Bros Barbecue
Brian’s order: The Otis Taco
Also get: Bread pudding
Yes, this is a barbecue joint.
I don’t care. It belongs in the taco guide.
If you follow Texas barbecue, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve already heard about Reese Bros. They've been recognized by Bon Appétit, the Michelin Guide and plenty of people who spend way more time arguing about brisket than I do.
I'm here for the Otis Taco.
It's one of my favorite examples of what happens when Texas barbecue and San Antonio taco culture end up on the same plate.
And if this is your last stop, don't immediately leave after the taco.
Get the bread pudding.
Trust me.
Reese Bros is currently open Thursday through Sunday. If you're planning on going Thursday, especially, I'd check before heading over. And like any popular barbecue spot, don't assume everything will still be available if you show up late.
Brian’s tip: Get there before you're starving. Barbecue and patience don't always make great friends.
Get directions to Reese Bros Barbecue
🌮 4. Anacacho Coffee & Cantina
Brian’s order: Big Red & Barbacoa Taco
Bonus: Get a coffee and explore the hotel
This might be the taco on this list that sounds the strangest when I describe it.
That's exactly why you should try it.
Inside The St. Anthony Hotel, Chef Leo Davila created a Big Red & Barbacoa Taco that somehow manages to feel playful, modern and completely San Antonio.
Chef Leo has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, and the taco has also gotten some love from Texas Monthly.
But forget the accolades for a second.
It's just a really good taco.
Anacacho also gives you a completely different experience from the food trucks and neighborhood taco shops on this list.
Order the taco. Get a coffee. And before you leave, walk around The St. Anthony for a few minutes.
It's one of San Antonio's beautiful historic hotels and worth seeing even if you aren't staying there.
Brian’s tip: Don't rush this one. The hotel is part of the experience.
🌱 5. Plantaquería
Brian’s order: Vegan barbacoa taco
Also get: Whatever house-made drink they're serving
Hear me out.
Get the vegan barbacoa taco even if you aren't vegan.
Plantaquería takes familiar Mexican flavors and recreates them entirely with plant-based ingredients.
Their barbacoa taco is light and refreshing, and it still somehow scratches that barbacoa-taco itch.
That's why I like having this stop on the list.
If I'm going to send you around San Antonio eating tacos, I don't want to give you seven versions of essentially the same thing. San Antonio's food scene continues to evolve, and Plantaquería shows you another side of it.
They'll also typically have some kind of homemade drink or agua fresca. Get one.
Brian’s tip: Don't order it thinking, “Let's see if this vegan taco can taste like a real taco.” Just eat the taco. You might be surprised.
Get directions to Plantaquería
🌮 6. Los Weyes de la Asada at El Camino
Brian’s order: Sirloin taco
Best time to go: Evening
Save this one for later in the day.
Los Weyes de la Asada is a food truck parked at El Camino, and the order here is simple:
Get the sirloin taco.
But I'm not sending you here just because of the taco.
El Camino is one of those places that really comes alive after the sun goes down. There are lights, music, drinks, food trucks, people hanging out, and even a playground if you've got kids with you.
It's an easy San Antonio night without needing to make some giant plan.
Get your taco. Grab a drink. Find somewhere to sit.
Stay awhile.
Brian’s tip: Go after dark if you can. This one is as much about the atmosphere as the taco.
📍 El Camino, 1009 Avenue B, San Antonio
🐷 7. Carnitas Don Raúl
Brian’s order: Carnitas taco
Sometimes the recommendation is right there in the name.
Go get the carnitas.
Carnitas Don Raúl has roots in Michoacán, and this is where I'd send someone who wants to experience a more traditional approach to carnitas.
You can choose from different cuts of pork, which also makes this a fun stop if your normal carnitas-ordering strategy is basically:
“Carnitas, please.”
If you don't know what cut to order, ask.
Or get a mix.
That's part of the experience.
Brian’s tip: Try something you don't normally order. This is a good place to learn that “carnitas” can mean a whole lot more than one kind of taco.
Get directions to Carnitas Don Raúl
If I Only Had One Afternoon...
Here's what I wouldn't do:
Try to eat at all seven places.
That sounds less like a vacation and more like a competitive eating event.
I'd pick three completely different experiences.
Start with a breakfast taco. Try something you can't get everywhere, like a puffy taco or barbecue taco, during the day. Then finish somewhere you can grab another taco, get a drink, and actually hang out for the evening.
The point isn't to check seven tacos off a list.
It's to experience a little San Antonio along the way.
Or Let Us Handle the Riding, Eating and Logistics 🌮🚲
If you've made it this far and you're thinking:
“This sounds great, but I don't want to figure out restaurant hours, parking, routes and how I'm getting from taco to taco…”
Well, that's basically why we created Taco Trails of San Antonio.
We explore the city by e-bike, stopping along the way for food and stories about the neighborhoods we're riding through.
Some of the places you've just read about may make an appearance. Others may not.
That's intentional.
Restaurants change. Hours change. Food trucks move. And sometimes we find something that we think you absolutely need to eat.
Your Taco Trails experience includes your electric bike, local Mural Ride guide, food at the tour stops and water.
We handle the route. We handle the bikes. We handle the food.
You only need to bring money if there's something extra you want to order along the way.
And don't worry if you've never ridden an e-bike. We'll get you comfortable before we head out.
Come hungry. We'll handle the rest.
BOOK TACO TRAILS OF SAN ANTONIO
One last thing before you start eating...
Restaurants change hours. Food trucks move. Menus change. And San Antonio keeps giving us new things to eat.
Always check a restaurant's current hours and location before heading out.
And bookmark this guide.
We'll keep updating it when we find something we think deserves a spot.